captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> of breaking news out of the district this noon where crews are battling a deadly two-alarm fire at an apartment building and southeast. a picture of the flames engulfing the two-story apartment located at 1700 -- in

the 1700's block of r street. officials have confirmed two people have died in the fire. meanwhile, an injured firefighter was also taken from a scene in an ambulance with a possible broken ankle. firefighters were eventually able to put the fire out of the cause remains under investigation. stay with us and wjla.com. we will have much more throughout the day on the breaking story. >> the other breaking story celebrations in baltimore. ravens fans industry as they bring the lombardi trophy back to charm city. but the john gonzalez is live in baltimore where the fister these are well underway. >> good afternoon carrying -- good afternoon from downtown baltimore where the mayor of baltimore and the coach of the baltimore ravers john harbaugh officially started the parade.

head coach john harbaugh is in this maryland national guard humvee right now. this is where he will be throughout this parade. the rest of the players, they each have their humvees -- and the rest of the players and a team on this fellow right here. you can see the baltimore ravens just taking it all in. how do you feel? >> it feels great amazing. >> what is it like seeing all these folks out there? >> speechless. can't believe so many people out here. >> holiday street down here in downtown baltimore. lining the streets of baltimore. it is just pandemonium in baltimore right now. we want to show you city hall where they just unveiled a banner congratulating the baltimore ravens. you can see the rest of the team, anquan bolden taking pictures capturing the historic

moment. the ravens now champions for a second time. we will send it over here where joe flacco is getting into his humvee with the super bowl trophy and they are getting ready to take off. this parade starting about one hour late but nobody complaining here, in front of city hall. eventually this parade will make its way down to the stadium where they will have a massive rally there. it was supposed to take place at 12:30 p.m. and obviously it will not happen in. but at some point today it will happen. as the parade comes through you can see joe flacco coming by right now. the mvp super bowl champion. thousands of fans lining the streets getting ready for this victory parade. reporting live in baltimore john gonzalez, abc 7 news. >> great scene and fantastic

reporting. right there next to joe flacco. officials meanwhile at the superdome say they are not concerned -- they had concerns about the power outage months before. a spokesman for the company that oversees the stadium says tests showed some decay and chance of failure. louisiana spent more than $1 million on superdome improvements, with more than $600,000 for the electrical cable system but the big story is obviously in baltimore and we will be back with more live reports of the parade coming up. >> we are actually getting milder temperatures today. perfect timing for the parade. >> southern maryland certainly feeling good right now. we are still dealing with 30's and other areas. let's look at the satellite pictures. definitely the haves and have- nots in terms of the temperatures and a lot of cloudiness. notice the showers and a few flurries trying to get started and to west virginia. we could get a few spanked -- sprinkles.

the boundary has stalled out on top of us with a little energy which could squeeze out light rain showers this afternoon. 39 degrees at reagan national but but wind chill is down at 34, so still a little bit cooler. with the cloud cover, slow to warm up. traveling, things are pretty good up and down the east coast. we have our ribald delays leaving here headed to new york's city or newark, 30-60 minutes. also shower activity across the ghost -- gulf coast but the midsection is looking good. in addition to a few sprinkles flurries to the west of us throughout the day we are expecting cloudy skies and temperatures in the middle for a's. a little warmer in the seven-day forecast and things looking interesting for friday. i will explain coming up and another few minutes. >> thank you. today the senate just passed a bill to increase security at american embassies overseas. this morning's vote approved a measure to transfer a little more than $1 billion from a

surplus of funds once intended for operations in iraq. it will be used to build a marine security guard posts and embassies that are more secure. coming after the attack on u.s. consulates in libya and turkey. it heads to a vote in the house. >> a florida judge denied defense requests to delay the trial of george zimmerman. the former neighborhood watch volunteer is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of an all mourned t -- unarmed teenager trayvon martin. zimmerman claims he shot martin in self-defense after the teen attack him. the trial will begin as scheduled june 10. today trayvon martin's family and friends are celebrating what would have been his 18th birthday. >> a 5-year-old boy held hostage for nearly a week in and of the grant -- underground bunker in alabama has now been reunited with his mother. authorities storm the bunker after negotiation with suspect jimmie lee dykes broke down. officials are not releasing any

details on the rate but they say he was shot and killed. police and family of a boy named ethan are just glad he is safe. >> he is happy to be home. he is very excited. like a said, he is happy to be home. and he looks good. he looks good. >> ethan's six birthday is tomorrow. the investigators have many days of work still ahead of them at the crime scene. >> a push for gun control -- reveals january was the second highest month on record for gun background checks, according to the fbi. more than 2.4 million background checks will profit -- process through the national and state from a back road test -- check system and december was the number one record-setting month with 2.7 million. that was after the deadly shooting in the town bank, connecticut. >> and the risk of a national financial crisis the federal government is accusing standard and poor's of civil fraud.

the government said the rating agency gave high marks to risky mortgage bonds and that helped bring on the financial crisis. it says s&p misled investors and ignore the risks in order to take money and make money and gain market share. s&p so far has denied wrongdoing. >> a new numbers show -- new number showing just how much americans are spending on gasoline. the energy department says u.s. households spend about 4% of their incomes at the pump this year, on average about $2,900. the highest in four years. nationwide the average for a gallon of regular gas $3.60 last year, also a record high. the climb in gas prices not good news for drivers, particularly in the district of columbia. >> a new report says when people in our area hit the road they spend more time behind the wheel than anywhere else in the entire country. malian quarter hat -- brianne carter has more on the impact.

>> for d.c. area native tony, just getting to office can be trying. he says on the roads, it is always a slow start to the day. >> about 40 minutes to go 6 miles. >> according to a new study, it is because the washington region is the most congested and the u.s., followed by los angeles san francisco, new york, and boston. in d.c., drivers wasted an average of 67 hours a year behind the wheel. a report from the texas a&m transportation institute showed some drivers and the areas need almost three hours for a trip that should just take 30 minutes. >> i moved to bethesda because i can come through the city and state of iowa. -- offer the highway. >> it just pops for no reason. for the life of me i cannot figure it out. i guarantee -- driving a little further on 66 it will slow down. >> the study also shows sitting

in traffic is costly. this year, almost 1400 per driver. >> doing other things? >> having more family time. >> of virginia governor bob mcdonnell called the findings unacceptable and called on the general cymbeline to pass transportation reform. however, several drivers in the region believed the chaos will continue to be an issue despite action from lawmakers. >> public transportation infrastructure is so poor. they are working on it, but we are talking years from now before we even get there. by that time there are going to be hundreds of thousands more people. >> in arlington, brianne carter. >> d.c. mayor vincent gray is getting ready to deliver his state of the district address tonight. he is expected to report on the status of the city, as well as his administration, an outline his agenda. the speech will be given at the sixth and i street synagogue in

northwest and sister station news channel 8 will have live coverage beginning tonight at 7:00 p.m.. >> the president john f. kennedy eternal flame at arlington cemetery is getting an upgrade. a maryland company has been awarded a contract to replace parts which are malfunctioning and making it more energy- efficient and easier to maintain. the current plan has been in place since 1967. it is the skull seen around the world. coming up an abc 7 news at noon -- now a more human side to king richard iii. scientists went one step further and released a sculptor of exactly what the king look like. >> ihop giving away free pancakes and only asking for one small thing in return, that in turn can help so many. we are going to explain. >> after long tours of duty, soldiers coming home now have a place to call their own. inside the uso new wounded warrior center. >> here is a live look outside

>> we are getting closer to the end of the war in afghanistan which means more of our troops coming home. >> and little less than an hour the uso will hold the grand opening of the wounded warriors center. jummy olabanji has the story you will see only here on abc7. >> 20,000 square feet of rest relaxation education, and entertainment awaits the will of the warriors at ford of war -- fort belvoir.

>> the uso and american public's way of giving back. >> this $100 million project took almost three years to complete. >> one of the first things we did is made with wounded warriors and their families to really get an understanding of their needs. >> their classrooms for job training, multipurpose room for group gatherings, therapeutic garden and even a game room. an architect says it is one of the most rewarding privacy has worked on. >> it is rewarding to see it work the way you plan. >> the new center was built for universal access. many rooms and hallways can fit multiple wheelchairs'. in the kitchen, for instance, there is lots of space to move around and low countertops and appliances. >> it is just fun, it is great to have the center here. >> charles practicing his swing in the golf simulator -- donated from the company full swing. he said not only is it fun but it is a form of physical and

mental therapy. >> we have appointments every day. we just want to get away and relax. >> the largest and most expensive project uso has ever taken on but they said it was worth every penny. >> it was very special to see the people that we serve in this building. on my drive home, my heart was full -- it was spectacular. >> jummy olabanji, abc 7 news. >> it was just great. i was out and fort belvoir for an event with wounded warriors and it is just fantastic to see them get all this attention. >> an amazing facility, without a doubt. >> today, as you know, and many of us know -- a full stomach to prove it -- pancake day, free pancake day at ihop, all for a good cause. >> "good morning washington" team were able to go out for international pancake day. we stopped fighting ihop in

alexandria off of jefferson davis high with. i am feeling. how about you? >> the camera -- >> pictures of me eating. >> this was all for a great cause, raising money for the lymphoma and leukemia society. doing great work out there. a lot of people came out for support so we certainly appreciate that. >> let's talk about what else is going on -- baltimore -- boy, a great day to be outdoors and baltimore? >> 36 degrees. a little cloudy. could be worse. >> a huge parade. there it is. that is joe flacco, i think writing in the movie with the lombardi trophy -- riding in the humvee taking pictures. it is amazing. fantastic. john gonzalez gave us a great view from the ground.

as they head toward the stadium really fascinating stuff. >> great day for baltimore and great weather for a parade. it is dried right now. a little cool but not super cold and warmer than it has spent almost for the last week. nice changes ahead. we are cloudy. time lapse, on top of the belfort furniture weather center. overlooking d.c.. the clouds, with just a peak here and there of sunshine this morning. but we are going to stick with the cloudiness through the rest of the afternoon and maybe try to squeeze in a couple of the sprinkles, another weak little disturbance trying to move an overhead so it could be sprinkles or bend salaries as we time all of this late afternoon and into the evening hours. we had a clipper last night as well that missed the d.c. area, but look at this nice, fresh coating. this is an frost bird, maryland, in garrett county. -- frostburg, maryland.

hagerstown picked up a trace, a dusting. 39 degrees in d.c. this hour with the wind chill down to 34. a little on the brisk side. but look at these temperatures in southern maryland and parts of central virginia. 45 in culpeper, 50 in fredericksburg. quantico, 42. 37 degrees right now at dulles airport. in the afternoon hours, a little more warming. we will call a mid 30's today but look at the warmer air to the south of trying to bubble up. fighting this dip in the jet stream that was allowing the cool air into place and allowing the clippers traveling on top of us one after the other. there is the futurecast model showing the cloud cover sticking around. a couple of spotty sprinkles or flurries coming in, but that is about it. some clearing, especially to the south tomorrow. more sun shine tomorrow then i think we saw today. forecast for today -- mostly

cloudy skies. couple of sprinkles. it for tonight, a flurry is possible but otherwise mostly cloudy. hite tent -- low temperatures between 26-32. a mixture of sun and clouds tomorrow, 45 degrees. the end of the week, the latest computer models showing intensifying storm off the coast. it is too soon to say what kind of an impact it will have on us but we will watch for potential of the wintry mix. at this time, it looks like the brunt may be moving toward new england. we will have big updates on the system coming up. >> appreciate it. >> yesterday we told you about an incredible discovery in england. a team of researchers found this goal buried beneath the parking lot and determined it belongs to king richard iii. and now we know this is what the late king looked like. after they got their hands on the remains of they could run a scan and reconstruct his face. for the first time, the world is actually getting a definitive

look at king richard iii. >> pretty impressive. >> charm city is absolutely alachua this new. coming up an abc 7 news, back to the action as baltimore ravens fans celebrate the

>> the party as well underway in baltimore where the ravens celebrating this weekend's one with their fans. >> john gonzalez is live on the streets of baltimore with all the reaction and the action, joining us by phone. >> we are watching the parade route behind the scenes right now. that was an electric moment. minutes ago down at city hall downtown baltimore, the team

came out and thousands of fans erupted. john harbaugh, the head coach and then ed reed holding the super bowl trophy along with ray lewis thinking the fans. now the team moving by humvee the star players each in one from the maryland national guard. they are headed down to the stadium where the party will continue. later today, there will be a festive event inside the stadium, and a farewell tour through the streets of downtown baltimore for ray lewis who is now retired. >> a big crowd waiting for them when they arrive at the stadium. still ahead -- jack k

>> we have another live look out in baltimore at the demint keybank stadium. filled with stars looking forward to the lombardi trophy and the ravens team and making their way inside. a big celebration planned after the super bowl trophy comes to charm city. >> jacqui jeras, the have a great day for it. >> 36 degrees right now and baltimore. we will see temperatures in the 40's this afternoon. clouds maybe a sprinkle, but pretty calm overall. >> looks like a good week and weaken overall. we will be seeing you back

starting at 4:30